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As other posters have pointed out, there are indeed various opinions in Jewish sources as to whether the equation of Edom with Rome is literal or metaphorical. I recall also seeing a view (though I can't recall the source) that it's specifically the early Roman patrician families who were descended from Edom, while the rest of the Italian peoples were ...

The Classic Questions to Bereshit 8:11 in the Gutnik Chumash brings several different opinions on this matter (while specifically addressing where the olive branch came from).
Rabbi Levi says (Bereshit Rabbah 33:6) that the floodwaters did not fall in the Land of Israel. If so, even if all the plants in the rest of the world were destroyed, that would not ...

In a number of his talks, the Lubavitcher Rebbe zt"l points out that this demonstrates that the names of the parshiyos aren't just incipits, but reflect the theme of the parsha (and that this is generally true of the Jewish names of people and things).
The difference is basically this: Parshas Noach is primarily about Noach himself, not so much about his ...

At the core of your question is the assumption that the flood and its fallout was natural, and was subject merely to the laws of nature as we see them today. I do not accept that premise, however I think that one can still reconcile the evidence we see nowadays with the flood in a cogent way that draws upon the natural sciences we accept. I will attempt to ...

The "window" was in the top of the Ark. (Ibn Ezra says this explicitly on 6:16, but I think it is generally agreed upon.) Looking up would not have helped much.
Sticking his head out of the top would not have been an option, since the opening was 1/6th of a cubit wide (Ibn Ezra there).

The Chumash Shai LeMorah brings the Be'er Mayim Chaim (A commentary on Rashi written by the Maharal of Prague's brother, R' Chaim of Friedberg) says that once G-d agreed to save the 5 cities if there were 45 righteous people, Avraham understood that G-d was willing to be complete the quorum in order to save the city. (as Rashi 18:28 explains).
Once Avraham ...

Great question!
Apparently, 2 cockroaches were on the ark. Breishit (Gen.) 6:20 mentions "all that crawls on the land". I would include insects in that category.
Apparently, they made it out of the ark alive, too as Breishit 8:17 implies. Miraculous that the elephants didn't squash them and the cats didn't eat them :-)

There are several reasons as pointed out by Rav Sorotzkin, Rav Hirsch and others.
First of all, they could not have stored sufficient food to last for the entire flood. The flood lasted for an entire solar year. In fact, it was only by a miracle that Noach and the animals had sufficient food during the flood and while they were repopulating the Earth.
As ...

Rabbi Yonasan Grossman from Yeshiva Har Etzion explains as follows.
Although he may have been able to tell at Mount Ararat what the situation was, Noach also wanted to know what the situation was in locations that were further away.
Noach was waiting for Hashem to tell him to leave the Teivah, however he had to do something to show he was interested in ...

Pesachim 54A says the rainbow was created on the sixth day:
Ten things were created on the eve of the Sabbath at twilight. These are they: the well, the manna, the rainbow, the writing and the writing instrument[s], the Tables, the sepulchre of Moses, the cave in which Moses and Elijah stood, the opening of the ass's mouth, and the opening of the earth's ...

A couple of possibilities:
I recall hearing once that it was a miracle (neis), but cannot remember where or from whom I heard/saw it.
I similarly recall that the waters around the Teivah were not boiling (source and reason), so it is quite possible the fish hung around there.
The waters were only boiling on the surface and not in the depths of the sea (no ...

The Ramban deals with this and points out that it must be a miracle. A WHOLE NEW WORLD and Ramban on the Torah: The Ark’s Size both show the explanation of this.
God’s Instructions to Noah outline the ark’s dimensions: three hundred amot long, fifty amot wide and thirty amot high (Bereishit 6:15). Ramban (commentary on 6:19) notes that such a structure ...

This can be found in Rashi, Onkelos, and Ibn Ezra. To cite a post about this on Balashon:
The word tzohar (or tsohar) appears only here in the Tanach and there are a number of explanations for the meaning:
window (Onkelos, Rashi, Ibn Ezra) - based on tsohorayim צהרים - noon. The light of noon is compared to the light entering the ark via the window. ...

Even so, the definition of chamas, as opposed to gezel, according to Rabbi Chanina in Bereishit Rabba is less than a shava peruta. (So too Rav Acha in Yerushalmi Bava Metzia.) Since the pasuk mentioned chamas, rather than gezel, it is a midrashic approach to look at the halachic definition of a chamsan.
The courts back then, presumably, did not work ...

There is a popular idea (I don't know an actual source for it) that Noach was the classic "tzaddik in a fur coat." The metaphor used is that when the house is cold, you can do one of two things: wrap yourself in a warm coat, ensuring your own comfort but ignoring everyone else's; or build a fire (or turn on the heater, etc.) so that everyone benefits. ...

According to Rabbeinu Bachyeh, 16 of each: 7 males for korbanos, 7 females for korbanos, and a male and a female for species preservation. (And same for the birds!)
According to others, 14 of each, 7 of each gender for both korbanos and species preservation.

Among the midrashim we find several opinions as to why Noach cursed K'naan. Here's a few:
Hashem had already blessed Noach and his sons (9:1) and a curse cannot exist while the blessing stands. He thus could not curse Cham (the actual perpetrator) and cursed his grandson K'naan instead. (Bereshis Rabbah 36:11; R' Yehuda) [As to why K'naan instead of Cham's ...

From a scientific point of view, when light was created, it would have been created in all its wavelengths (colours.)
It would be interesting to consider the idea that man was colour blind until Noach's generation, and thus they could see the rainbow for the first time.

Ralbag suggests a fascinating approach to understanding the incident. He explains that
these people did not sin in any way. They were not dispersed as a punishment. Instead, they
were dispersed in order to assure the preservation of humanity. Concentration of the entire
human race in a single location created the possibility of sudden extinction. A localized ...

He didn't endeavor to get the rest of his generation to do Teshuva. That is the main contrast between him and Avraham Avinu, who worked tirelessly to spread monotheism to the world.
This is called a Tzaddik in Pelz - a Righteous person in a fur coat - he keeps warm by wearing a fur coat instead of lighting a fire, thus keeping himself warm but letting ...

The verse is not sanctioning racism or racist attitudes. It is a statement about historical destiny based on the choices of these two boys and not about racial superiority. Judaism has a strong belief in the concept that choices made by individuals in the age of the forefathers had strong influence on the destiny of their progeny. The service mentioned here ...

First and foremost, according to the accepted scientific consensus, dinosaurs died tens of millions of years before humans ever walked the Earth. (Just wanted to get that out of the way before we continue.)
Based on a simple reading of the text (p'shat), two individuals of all land-based and air-based species of animals entered the Teiva\Ark. It follows ...

Wouldn't #3 answer the other two? Proposed answer: part of the miracle of the Mabul was that the ground was able to act as a super sponge when the rain stopped.
(personally, I'm not too comfortable with that, there seems something wrong with it but I can't put my finger on it)

I forgot which mefaresh I saw this in, but I think it was in the Mikraos Gedolos.
He was allowed to eat fish, as well as the animals which spontaneously generate, so as not to cast jealousy among the creations.

One Answer
From Torah Insights for Shabbat Parshat Noach 5758 by Rabbi Aaron Borow:
Rabbi Ki Tov answers. Noach believed that the people of his time were too far gone. They were beyond salvation. They had no respect for their own humanity or for that of others. Among all those who lived in his time, Noach could not find even a minyan of good people.
...

To answer the question in the title, according to Bereshit Rabbah 31:13 the Re'em (and some say it's offspring) were not brought into the Ark. R' Nechemia says they were strapped to the side of the ark.

The Bnei Yissaschar (R. Tzvi Elimelech of Dinov) explains (in Agra DeKallah on this verse) that since it was a dangerous time [I guess because there was no way to get any other food], then it was proper for the people to eat before the animals, in keeping with the rule that חייך קודמין (your own life takes precedence).

Rashi points out G-d had already told Avraham that He would save all five cities if there were 45 righteous people. Hence Avraham knew that one city could be saved by nine righteous people, so there was no need to ask G-d. And because of Noah, he knew that eight wasn't enough even if they were there, so he stopped asking.

According to Sefer Hayovelim the height was 13 parsa, 5433 amos and 2 zratot. (Source)
This would come out to about 52.5 km.
There are sources (such as) that take only the amos, because 50 km is unbelievable, and it doesn't really work out with the way the verse is built (חמשת אלפים וארבע מאות ושלושים ושלוש באמה עלה גבהו, ושתי זרתות ושלוש עשרה פרסה).
...